


Karaoke and Cops

by grandpacat



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: 80’s Pop Songs, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Attempted Sexual Assault, Humor, Interpative Dance, Karaoke, M/M, Public Fighting, Swearing, alcohol consumption, bar brawl, meet awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-28 22:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14459025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grandpacat/pseuds/grandpacat
Summary: What was supposed to be a fun night of karaoke with the group ended with Steve Rogers laughing his ass off as he was helped into a police car.





	Karaoke and Cops

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This popped into my head as I was listening to “Africa” by Toto. I wrote it in an hour, during a 4 hour flight back to California.
> 
> Sorry the title sucks, I’m sleep-deprived and travel-tired and am posting this before boarding my connecting flight.
> 
> Thank you to the wonderful arselindragon for being my beta (and travel buddy)!!!!!

What was supposed to be a fun night of karaoke with the group ended with Steve Rogers laughing his ass off as he was helped into a police car.

 

Here’s what happened:

 

Sam and Natasha had convinced Steve to join them with Wanda, Pietro, and Peter Quill among others to go to a new karaoke bar they wanted to check out. He’d initially resisted because he didn’t want to make a fool of himself, but he was lured in by promises of pitchers of beer and pizza, so Steve relented with a smile and agreed.

 

The chilly New York City air bit at Steve’s cheeks as he walked down the street, cursing the subway for making him late to meet everyone. The only thing that made sitting in a crowded subway on a Friday night better was the fact that he saw a man who was up there on Steve’s list of Most Attractive Strangers Ever. Of course he didn’t actually say anything to the guy, Steve just snuck glances at the man, taking in his features. The man looked roughly around Steve’s age, with a strong jaw covered in soft-looking stubble, beautiful gunmetal grey eyes, and adorable fluffy brown hair. It took Steve a while to get past the guy’s face, so he didn’t take in the guy’s body until they were standing up to get off. He nearly choked at the sight of the man’s thighs - _he looks like he could very easily fuck me against a wall_ \- Steve caught himself imagining as the guy stood up, the fabric of his jeans looking like they’d burst.

 

When Steve finally got off the crowded train and up the stairs onto the street, he lamented the fact that the man was already walking in the opposite direction. He sighed a bit before making his way to the bar, already looking forward to beer and more beer, the singing portion completely forgotten about.

 

****

 

“Steve’s here!” Sam called as he caught Steve’s eye and waved him over. Steve grinned and laughed as everyone that was spread over two tables waved and cheered. He spotted an empty seat between Wanda and Sam’s boyfriend T’Challa, and sat down with a sigh. T’Challa wordlessly passed Steve a cup of beer, which Steve took gratefully.

 

“How were the trains?” T’Challa asked, smirking like he already knew the answer.

 

Steve rolled his eyes as he took a gulp, “Horrible,” he said once he swallowed, “absolutely horrible. I took three just to get here, so this better be worth it because I hate taking the train.”

 

“Yeah, but you hate driving even more.” Wanda giggled as she poked his shoulder.

 

He just grunted in agreement as he continued to pound his beer.

 

****

 

All previous misery forgotten, Steve was having a great time with his friends. Beer was flowing, the pizza was great, and everyone cheered each other on, whooping and hollering when one of their group went up to sing. Steve had been laughing at Peter’s and Pietro’s rendition of “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by Scorpions. Peter had started the song by himself, but before Steve could even blink Pietro was up on stage head banging along with Peter, much to the bar’s amusement of the cheers and laughs were anything to go by.

 

Next up was Natasha who did a beautiful rendition of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)” by The Eurythmics, and everyone was clapping, whistling, and cheering her on. She finished with a huge grin and did a little curtsy before bouncing off the stage into Wanda’s arms. The two women laughed as they made their way back to the table and sat down next to Steve.

 

“Why don’t you go up next Steve?” Natasha asked with a smirk on her face.

 

“Nah, I think I’ll need at least ten more beers before getting up there,” Steve scoffed before finishing his drink. It was his fourth beer and he was feeling good as he poured a fifth, but he still wasn’t ready to get up on a stage in front of strangers.

 

“Aw, come on, you gotta get up there at some point!” Tony jeered from down the table, with Sam nodding in agreement. Steve chuckled, and turned back to watch the stage just to nearly spit out his drink when he saw who was walking up the small steps to the platform. It was the guy from the train.

 

As if he could sense someone was thinking about him, the guy Steve had dubbed Hot Subway Guy swept his eyes over the crowd, and they stopped on Steve. _Shit, did he know I was checking him out the whole time?_ Steve wondered as he tried to be nonchalant and nodded his head in recognition. The guy grinned and waited for the song to start. Soon enough everyone was laughing as the intro to “Africa” by Toto started playing.

 

Steve couldn’t help but laugh along with his friends as the guy started singing along without taking his piercing eyes off Steve. He grinned, watching him rock to the beat, then as the chorus kicked in he grabbed the mic from the stand and started singing along while doing what could only be called a very passionate interpretive dance.

 

“ _It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you_ ,” Subway Guy sang as he danced and pointed a finger directly at Steve, who couldn’t do more but blush while his friends laughed at the guy gyrating his hips to the drumbeat.

 

“Is he pointing at you?!” Sam questioned as the crowd whistles and sang along.

 

Steve covered his face with his hands, not even knowing how to answer, when Sam yanked his hands away and nearly yelled, “Look!” in Steve’s ear. He reluctantly looked up to see Subway Man was not only pointing at Steve, but he was also now beckoning for Steve to join him on stage while singing the second verse. Steve groaned as his friends pulled him out of his seat and pushed him to the stage.

 

“ _There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do_ ,” he crooned as Steve lingered shyly at the steps before thinking _Fuck it,and_ jumped up on stage too.

 

 _“I bless the rains down in Africa, gonna take some time to do the things we never had,_ ” Steve sang into the mic, locking eyes with the man with a grin. They continued singing along to the song, dancing and twirling, singing passionately to the crowd and to each other as everyone cheered and sang along too.

 

When the song was over Steve breathed a sigh as he held hands with Subway Man and they bowed together. They walked off the stage still holding hands, and Steve got a high-five from Tony as he passed by. Subway Man caught Steve’s eye and nodded his head towards the bar, and Steve smiled in agreement before following him, still buzzing from the endorphins of being on stage and the beer. They found seats next to each other before placing their orders, and the man immediately turned to Steve and held his hand out in greeting.

 

“I’m James, but everyone calls me Bucky,” he said with a grin, “thanks for getting up there with me by the way. It was fun, and you sound really good.”

 

Steve blushed and returned his handshake, “Thanks for inviting me up there, I don’t think I would have gone up otherwise. I’m Steve, Steve Rogers.”

 

“So Steve, I couldn’t help but recognize you when I got in here,” Bucky said with a self-satisfied smirk while taking a sip on his whiskey sour.

 

“Oh God, wow okay. I definitely wasn’t as subtle as I thought,” Steve blushed even more as he busied himself drinking his rum and coke.

 

Bucky smiled, “No you really weren’t. It’s okay though, I didn’t mind.”

 

“But you walked in the opposite direction when we got up to the street,” Steve blurted while realizing how creepy he sounded. _Will I ever learn to keep my mouth shut?_ was a recurring thought of his. Almost on a daily basis.

 

“Oh yeah, I actually got turned around thanks to the directions on my phone,” Bucky explained with a laugh, “I came here to meet some friends, they’re right there,” he pointed over to a group of three people.

 

Steve nodded and jerked his thumb to his own boisterous group, “There’s mine. They wanted to check this place out even though we’re all horrible at singing.” He looked back over to see Rhodes, Pietro, and Tony leading a sing along with Wanda, who was performing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” with Natasha on stage. Sam and T’Challa just watched their friends with looks of bemusement on their faces.

 

Bucky arched an eyebrow at Steve’s friend’s antics before turning back to him with a grin, “They look like a good time, mind if my group joins us at the table?”

 

“Nah they won’t mind at all, the more the merrier. And uh,” Steve blushed as he leaned his arm, purposefully grazing Bucky’s knee, “I wouldn’t mind either.”

 

They stared at each other for a bit longer than appropriate, deep blue eyes meeting stormy grey until Bucky leaned forward and lightly brushed his lips across Steve’s cheek and whispered, “Let’s go then.” Steve nodded dazedly before getting up and taking Bucky’s hand again; the two men picked up Bucky’s friends before going to Steve’s tables. Introductions were made, and Steve found himself laughing to the stories Bucky’s friends Gamora, Clint, and Scott were telling.

 

Scott got on like a house on fire with Sam and T’Challa, while Gamora gravitated to Wanda and Natasha, and Pietro and Tony were taking turns swapping jokes and jibes with Clint. Steve leaned back and observed everyone laughing and talking, and he suddenly felt glad he’d agreed to go out instead of staying in with Netflix.

 

****

 

Steve and Bucky had been leaning close to each other as they conversed, head bent together and knees touching, when Steve excused himself with a murmur to go the bathroom. He was on his way back, shaking the last of the water from his hands, when he saw a man slip something into a girl’s drink at a nearby table before walking away. Immediately fuming, Steve went over and tapped the girl on the shoulder, ducking his head to quietly say, “Hey, I don’t want to alarm you, but I saw a man drop something in your cup,” he quickly pointed the guy out.

 

“Oh my god, thank you,” the small brunette said, “what should I do? Should I tell the bartender or something? What if he does it to someone else’s drink?”

 

Steve bit his lip in thought, “I can go let the bartender know, and I’ll put that in the trash for you,” he volunteered, “you have a good time tonight.”

 

The girl smiled and nodded at Steve as he grabbed the glass and made his way over to the man that had spiked the drink. Steve jerked his head at Bucky as they made eye contact, and motioned for Bucky to follow him. He was soon joined by the brunette who stopped Steve with a hand on his waist and murmured into his ear, “Hey, where you goin’?”

 

“This piece of shit spiked a girl’s drink, and I saw him do it, so I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind,” Steve eyed Bucky, silently daring him to hold him back like his friends normally attempted.

 

Steve was pleasantly surprised to see Bucky’s gaze harden as he nodded and said, “Alright let’s find the fucker.”

 

The two men found the guy sitting at a corner table with one other guy, both of them nursing beers. Steve couldn’t hold himself back from taking the spiked drink and throwing it in the guy’s face while saying, “How’s that taste mothefucker?”

 

The burly man spluttered and gasped while his friend immediately stood up and exclaimed, “What the hell?!”

 

“It seems your buddy spiked a girl’s drink, and my man Stevie here saw it happen,” Bucky said while clapping a hand on Steve’s shoulder and glaring at the friend.

 

The guy Steve was eyeing wiped the liquid off his face and got up as well, seething in anger at being caught. “Fuck you,” he snarled, “it’s none of your business.”

 

“Yeah it is you piece of shit,” Steve shouted as drew himself up to his full height and squared his shoulders, “what the fuck is wrong with you? Can’t get a girl to like you so you gotta drug her to get it in?”

 

“Get the fuck back,” the friend threatened Steve with a fist.

 

“Make me,” Steve turned his glare at the friend, so he didn’t see the punch that got him square in the nose. Blood gushed out, and Steve gasped at the hot feeling of it streaming down his face. Bucky pulled him back before throwing a punch of his own, and from there all hell broke loose: Steve was throwing as many punches as he could, breaking the guy’s nose right back while also splitting his lip. Bucky was busy fighting with the friend, but it looked like he was holding his own, and fairing better than the guy he was wailing on. Security was on them all in a heartbeat, separating all four men and hauling them towards the exit. Their respective groups saw what was going on and jumped up to follow them out, loudly questioning security and then rolling their eyes at Steve for picking yet another fight.

 

****

 

Steve sat on the curb next to Bucky while waiting for police to show up. He explained what he saw to security, and they were waiting to make sure the cops came and collected to the guy and his friend. Unfortunately for Steve, even though he hadn’t thrown the first punch, he’d instigated the fight by throwing the drink in the guy’s face.

 

“Sorry for how tonight went,” Steve sniffed as he held the ice pack to his nose and Bucky helped mop up the blood on his chin and mouth, “other than the last fifteen minutes, I had a lot of fun tonight.”

 

Bucky grinned and replied, “It’s okay Steve, you were doing the right thing. I would’ve done the same if I’d seen it, and ah, I had a lot of fun as well. Hopefully next time you won’t start another fight.”

 

“Next time?”

 

“Yeah,” Bucky grinned, “I’d like to take you out, and get to know you more. If that’s okay with you?”

 

Steve nodded his head as much as he could without jostling the ice pack, “Yeah I’d like that a lot.” He grabbed his phone and held it out to Bucky, so they could exchange numbers. Putting his phone back in his pocket, Steve smiled as the police pulled up and an officer got out of the car.

 

Watching the security explain to the police, Steve waited to give his version of what happened, and sighed while leaning into Bucky’s body heat. Eventually he was hauled up and put into handcuffs, lucky that the worst of the bleeding had already stopped.

 

Their respective friend groups stood nearby, talking amongst themselves as Bucky joined them. Steve looked over at the sound of Bucky calling his name. He raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement.

 

“ _It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you,_ ” Bucky sang out as he once again pointed at Steve, “ _There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do,_ ” their friends either laughed or shook their heads in embarrassment. Steve knew he’d be fine since even the officers chuckled on the way to the station.

**Author's Note:**

> Look up the 80’s Smash Hits playlist on Spotify. 
> 
> I’d link it, but I don’t know how. 
> 
> Every song they sang was from the playlist, so you’re welcome.
> 
> Comments, reviews, criticisms, etc. are all greatly appreciated <3


End file.
